Threats to biodiversity - Generally one species of mammal extinct in 400 years and one avian species

lasts in 200 years. But at present, the human activities and indiscriminate destruction of natural
resources have increased this rate from 1000 to 10000 times. As a result the biodiversity is decreasing
rapidly.
Today we have lost 75 percent of the world's fish are at the risk of extinction. In the last few years, asian
cheetah, Javanese rhinoceros, Himalayan quail and pink-headed duck became completely extinct from
india.
Reasons for biodiversity loss-

(i) Destruction of natural habitats- In order to fulfill the needs of the growing population of the world,
we are expanding the townships and agricultural land by destroying the natural habitats.

Today these forests are being cut at a rate of 1.7 crore hectare per year. If tropical forests were
destroyed at this rate, then according to a scientific estimate, in the next 30 years, 5 to 10 percent of the
plant and animal species inhabiting in these forests will become extinct.

(ii) Habitat fragmentation- The natural habitats of wild creatures have been disrupted by the
construction of roads, railways, gas pipeline, canal, electricity lines, dams and farms.
They have adversely affected the natural activities of wild life and these creatures feel unsafe in such
activities.Many wild animals are slayed by the vehicles or killed by local residents.

(iii) climate change- Due to green house gases temperature of earth increases. With the rise in the
temperature, the ice on poles is melting rapidly and the water level of the sea is increasing. This has
resulted in adverse impact on marine biological diversity.

(iv) Environmental pollution- the environmental pollution badly affect the animals and plants. Many
plants and animals are destroyed in the land and water, polluted by industrial effluents. This has an
adverse impact on the fertility of the soil.

(v) over exploitation of the natural resources- Man has excessively exploited the trees and animals for
his commercial benefits. This has resulted in a threat of extinction of many species.

(vi) commercial practices in agriculture and forestry- In the greed of getting more production in less
time, today's farmer grows improved seeds varieties only and maintains the more productive hybrid
species of livestock. These practices have resulted in steep decline in the genetic biodiversity.

In the same way, forests of the same species are being planted for meeting today's needs of paper,
matches, plywood and industrial raw materials, thereby decreasing the faunal biodiversity.

(vii) invasion of foreign species- many times the existence of local species is threatened by the desirable
or undesirable influx of foreign species and they cause an imbalance in the whole ecosystem.

Some plant species such as Lantana and Hyacinthus were imported for beautification. Today, this plant
has become a menace for the local biodiversity because it does not allow other plants to grow near it
nor do animals eat it.

(Viii) Superstition and ignorance- Due to superstition and ignorance of the people, the threat on some
specific species of living beings increases tremendously.